U.S. DOJ Sues Founder of Helix Bitcoin Mixer

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit in court against the founder of the Helix cryptocurrency mixer, Larry Din Harmon, for non-payment of a $60 million fine. This was reported by Finbold.

In February 2020, Harmon was arrested in the United States on suspicion of laundering more than $300 million through darknet markets Abraxas, Agora, Hansa, Hydra and Wall Street Market.

imposed a fine on him of $60 million, which he did not pay.

A U.S. federal court ruled that Bitcoin is money for the purposes of this case. The Department of Justice also for the first time described cryptocurrency mixing as a crime.

In August 2021 Harmon pleaded guilty to laundering more than $300 million through Helix from 2014 to 2017. He faces up to 20 years in prison; a date for the final verdict has not yet been determined.

arrested the alleged operator of the Bitcoin Fog bitcoin-mixing service, Roman Sterlingov in April 2021. He was charged with laundering nearly $336 million.

In August 2022, Dutch law enforcement arrested the Tornado Cash developer Alexey Pertsev on suspicion of involvement in concealing illicit financial flows through a cryptocurrency mixer.

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